Repeat

I gave a leadership talk recently that centered on core values. The interaction I had with the audience right after made me feel that it was well received. Naturally, that made me happy. Naturally.

A few days after the talk, I sent out a survey to solicit anonymous feedback from the audience and to see what else there was that they would need with regard to further training, other topics of interest that I may be able to speak about or constructive criticism.

Most of the feedback that I got was on par with the intuitive feedback that I got while speaking to the audience the day of the talk. BUT … there is always a but … I did get this one response that said that my talk was just “motherly advice” that they had heard before. Interesting.

Since I was talking to a group of managers at that particular company, it would have been interesting to have been able to know who this person was that wrote this comment and understand the dynamics of their relationship with their team. How were they doing as a leader?

I don’t mind constructive feedback that would lead me to tighten up my presentation or something I could really use. This post by Dharmesh Shah made me stop and think of the feedback that I got.

I don’t dismiss any feedback that I get. I didn’t. The article I linked to though bears out my belief that we need to be reminded every once in awhile of what our mission is and in my leadership talk — of what the core values of a leader is.

If you hear Tony Robbins (he’s the one that comes to mind right now) say something that you already know to be true or have heard before, you don’t say, “fatherly advice.” You nod your head in agreement or you go, “wow, I forgot about that.” It isn’t always an AHA moment when you hear great speakers speak. A lot of times they confirm or affirm what it is that you believe. After all, my talk was not on the latest discovery for a cure for cancer. We are talking about leadership values. Let’s be honest, how many of us exemplify great leadership all the time? As I said, let’s be honest…

Next time you feel like you are REPEATING yourself, stop, think, and repeat. Some things are worth repeating.